Porsche 911 GT3 lowers ‘Ring record thanks to Manthey Racing

Porsche has beaten itself, lowering the lap record for the Nurburgring Nordschleife with some help from Manthey Racing.

The Porsche-owned race team has developed the Manthey Performance Kit for the new 911 GT3. Racing driver Kevin Estre drove the new machine around the 20km circuit in 6:55.73 seconds, more than four-seconds faster than the standard 911 GT3 (which lapped the same track in 6:59.92 seconds).

ROAD TEST: 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 review

The upgrades for the already very quick sports car, include changes to the aerodynamics and chassis. There’s more downforce thanks to a larger spoiler lip and side flaps at the front and a larger rear wing. The swan-neck-supported wing is both wider and has a larger Gurney flap as well as bigger end plates. The rear diffuser has also been changed to include longer fins, which are also now made of carbon fibre rear-inforced plastic (CFRP). The other noticeable change are the aerodiscs on the rear wheels.

Porsche and Manthey Racing have also developed new four-way adjustable coilover dampers, as well as allowing for adjustments to the suspension struts and compression without tools. The 20- and 21-inch forged alloy wheels are 7.3kg lighter but are fitted with the same Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres as the standard GT3 that set its Nurburgring record.

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The Manthey Performance Kit for the 911 GT3 is currently only available in Europe but will be made available to other markets, including Australia, in the near-future.